Fabio Pollicino

DNV GL, the world’s largest resource of independent energy experts and certification body, has published the world’s latest and most comprehensive service specification for project certification of wind power plants, the DNVGL-SE-0190. The set of specifications is designed to ensure the safe and reliable operation of wind power plants, their assets and components throughout the project life cycle.

Since issuing its first wind certification standard in 1986, DNV GL continuously worked together with the industry to develop up to date certification schemes tailored to the demands of the advancing renewables market.

This fully revised certification scheme is the most complete set of specifications to date and designed to mitigate risks at each stage of the project certification phases, ensuring that wind power plants operate safely and cost efficiently and all technical, design and construction requirements are met.

The new service specification DNVGL-SE-0190 encompasses more risk-related features for state-of-the art power plant certification than any other project certification standard available on the market, adding value beyond common certification practices. To provide ultimate flexibility, the new DNV GL scheme addresses individual project needs. By reducing the costs over the project lifetime without compromising on quality, it allows the split into project phases and asset related certifications, providing stakeholders the opportunity to add optional service elements based on individual needs and preferences, such as:

Leveraging synergies from type to project certification, by addressing the respective interfaces

Progression of a risk-based approach for manufacturing surveillance, enabling further cost reductions and risk mitigation for each individual project

Emphasis on operational certification phases, maintaining the asset value across its lifetime

Working closely with the industry in developing the new service specification, feedback from stakeholders such as manufacturer, operator and developers showed a strong need for a more practical certification scheme that addressee the full project life cycle, all assets of a wind power plant and references to all relevant standards - from concept over design and construction to operation, lifetime extension to decommissioning and repowering.

To address the demand for standards spanning across the entire project life cycle, the set of specifications provides a toolbox of certification elements, including:

New complementary services such as site suitability, met masts, navigation and aviation aids or power plant performance certifications to increase the possibilities and value of the wind power plant if desired

Opportunity to implement an optional asset-related certification procedure for wind turbines, substations, power cables and newly control station

New optional phases such as concept, lifetime extension, decommissioning and repowering

Reducing the levelized cost of energy is the key driver for the advancement of the wind energy industry and can be achieved through the optimisation of practices from all sources during the project life cycle from development, manufacturing, construction and operational lifetime of the wind power plant. This implicitly includes increased focus on state-of-the-art technical requirements, safety aspects and quality.

By developing a risk-based approach, the new service specification allows greater flexibility to the certification work without compromising the product’s safety and reliability.

Fabio Pollicino, Service Line Leader for Project Certification at DNV GL Renewables Certification commented: ‘Providing better guidance and simplifying the applicability for developers, owners, contractors and other stakeholders during the whole life cycle of the wind power plant, lies at the heart of the new service specification. We see that the wind energy sector is rapidly progressing, which is why we put a strong emphasis on ensuring that this certification scheme and our standards ensure the safety and reliability of current state-of-the-art projects and beyond.”

The DNV GL service specification for wind power plants is available to download here.